Seatrade-Maritime: Zhenghe Mainline contracts six box ships at Hengli Heavy Industry

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) has sealed a new shipbuilding project deal with Zhenghe Mainline (Jiangsu) Container Transportation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangsu Port Group.

Under the newly signed agreement, Zhenghe Mainline plans to invest over RMB 3 billion ($440 million) to order six 4,600 teu container ships from Hengli Shipbuilding. Upon delivery, all new vessels will be deployed on Taicang Port-originated routes to the Baltic Sea.

Combined with the first batch of shipbuilding projects signed by the two parties in 2025, Zhenghe Mainline’s publicly confirmed container ship orders at Hengli Shipbuilding will amount to 11 vessels in total, with a combined loading capacity of approximately 47,700 teu.

Chen Ming, Chairman of Jiangsu Port Group, stated that, “The latest signing ushers in a new stage of in-depth multi-party cooperation and complementary development. Both sides will jointly expand regional shipping capacity, upgrade comprehensive port and shipping service standards, and support Taicang Port’s transformation into a national top-tier logistics hub.
“The collaboration will further accelerate Suzhou and Jiangsu’s integration into global industrial and supply chains, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of the regional export-oriented economy,” he said.

This order adds to Hengli Heavy Industry’s robust 2026 container ship orderbook. The shipyard has secured a total of 56 container ship newbuilding orders in the first half of the year, with major publicly confirmed projects covering multiple clients.

Its key disclosed container ship contracts include a 4+2 batch of 6,000 teu container ships ordered by Zhonggu Logistics in January, eight 6,000teu boxships contracted with CMA CGM during the June Posidonia Maritime Exhibition, and four additional 6,000 teu container ships signed with Minerva Dry in July.

Benefiting from booming global maritime market demand, Hengli Heavy Industry achieved remarkable order growth in the first half of 2026. The yard captured 207 newbuilding orders across all vessel categories, including 49 bulk carriers, 94 tankers, eight very large asphalt carriers (VLACs), and 56 container ships.